Cleaning Up
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Summary: Neji is perfect, living up to his name in life, even if his station in society is one of the lowest. And then he ends up falling for someone, the most unlikely person in the world, only to discover that his life has no intention of letting him.
1. Teaser

Title: Cleaning Up  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Kiba x Neji  
Warnings: AU. Yaoi. Semi horror and general weirdness.  
Summary: Neji is perfect, living up to his name in life, even if his station in society is one of the lowest. And then he ends up falling for someone, the most unlikely person in the world, only to discover that his life has no intention of letting him be with anyone. And his life will stop at nothing to stop him.

The office.

The office had been a pinnacle of cleanliness and a testament to money and taste for as long as he could remember. A perfect square, with a large bay window for one wall, the office furniture was dark wood, heavy and expensive. It was the kind reserved for only the best in the company. There were no cubicles in this office, no plastic and grey desks that stood on metal legs and collected dust. The desk top was a clear and perfect glass, showing the year's calendar beneath for planning each monetary point of attack. The black phone was polished and even all the pencils were straight and sharpened, with the pens still holding all their original caps and not a single one leaking.

The shades were dusted, a stark white to match the walls, and the black leather chair held only a few minor scratches, which had been there long before the current occupant. A circular rug covered half the floor, giving the room a warm, yet purely business attitude, with straight and narrow lines to accent the desk and book shelf. The books were arranged alphabetically, all in immaculate condition, with color coded bookmarks where needed. Two decorations adorned the wall, both positioned perfectly to match the room. The first being an award, for the employee of the year with three years clearly marked. The second was an old antique clock, softly ticking the time away without any fancy design or flourish.

The owner of this office was all business. He kept the office free of dust during the day and tracked none in with him during the morning. He was, in Neji's opinion, one of the most perfect people he'd ever met and Neji took it as an honor to clean his office every night. A single touch of the desk and he found no dust, the same for the bookshelf. In the end all he had to do was straight the stapler on the desk and brush a little off the one family photo in its matching dark wood frame. Then he vacuumed the floor and the rug, and the office was in pristine condition, ready for its owner to return.

Neji could have easily skipped this office and touched it only once a week in his cleaning duties and it would still be just as clean, but that just wasn't the way Neji did things. He took pride in his job, and his life, and made sure that it showed in everything he was ever asked to do. He kept his shirt and pants neatly washed and pressed, his hair combed back into a tight pony tail for perfection and for none of the hairs to escape. He lived by the belief that he had to live up to his name, after all that▓s who everyone expected him to be. The name Hyuga was well respected and he was determined to live up to everything the name stood for, no matter what others said or thought. So everything he did he strived and succeeded doing with precision and perfection. Every floor was mopped, every window streak free and every speck of dust obliterated to bring the office to the peak of perfection which he forced himself to abide by every day.

There was a reason he was the only janitor that the five floor office building needed in their full time employ. He was also the only of the night crew people hired at this particular firm, save for the security man at the front desk who smelled of coffee and read magazines that needed to be hidden under the desk when management walked by. He completed his duties with pride and precision, perfect down to every detail.

Today, however, was one of the days he always dreaded. After he▓d cleaned the office, he retrieved the boxes needed from the supply closet and set them on the desk. The owner of this office had just made partner and was now given access to the prestigious top floor which consisted of corner offices, leather and mahogany furnished conference rooms and a private bar stocked with any drink the partners requested on Friday night. Neji was sure that this man deserved the promotion, if his office was any indication of his work, but he did not like the chaos it would cause in his system.

Now the office was being given to a new employee who was transferring in from another firm. Neji knew nothing about this employee, and while it was perfectly possible that the man could be as neat as the last, Neji highly doubted it. He was quite sure he would need to see how clean or dirty this person kept their office and adjust his cleaning times to allow time to adapt to this person▓s habits. He was not pleased about needing to change the methods he▓d used for the last few months just because the company decided to hire someone new.

Neji frowned to himself as he began packing all the items in the office, setting them carefully in the box so nothing would be scratched or nicked, then he loaded them on the cart to bring them up the elevator and to the correct office. It only took a few minutes, and then the office was cleared, ready for the new owner. Neji sprayed the name plate and wiped it clean before setting in the new name.

Kiba Inuzuka.

His name didn▓t sound professional nor did it sound important. This did not bode well, as far as Neji was concerned and he was not going to keep his hopes up that this Kiba would prove otherwise. As far as he was concerned this one would just be another headache.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Cleaning Up  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Kiba x Neji  
Warnings: AU. Yaoi. Semi horror and general weirdness.  
Summary: Neji is perfect, living up to his name in life, even if his station in society is one of the lowest. And then he ends up falling for someone, the most unlikely person in the world, only to discover that his life has no intention of letting him be with anyone. And his life will stop at nothing to stop him. 

Chapter 1: Mopping

Neji arrived the next night, all ready for work. His clothes were clean and wrinkle free, even a crease down each of his pant legs, ironed in that morning. His button down shirt was starched and clean, pressed and perfect, looking almost tailored thanks to his care in choosing just the right size. His hair was perfectly brushed and pulled back into a neat pony tail at the bottom of his scalp, echoing the anal retentiveness in his personality. The only personal affect on his entire body, is a small silver necklace with an equal armed cross, looking very old and ornate, but polished to perfection.

Neji made sure he arrived to the office on time, even early on most mornings and he walked through the maze of cubicles and small meeting rooms to his main broom closet where all of his cleaning supplies were kept. If people didn't know him, they might have guessed he was just another office worker and wondered at his lack of briefcase or blackberry and why he never really talked to the others. But like most office buildings, all the men and women were well into their work and most never even noticed Neji when he arrived or when he started walking down the halls, cleaning each floor with the upmost precision. It also helped that his work day started about an hour after most of the normal employees left the building.

His locker was part of a row of five, all situated in the broom closet with little slots in the side, which worked like mailboxes for letters from the managers of the company. Neji used his key to open his locker and was pleased to find no notices waiting for him. Back when he'd started and there'd been other workers, he's always seen them with notices about how certain parts of the building weren't kept up to cleaning standards and how they had to do a better job. Neji remembered them being fired one by one, the dreaded pink slip taped to the front of their locker rather than in the slot, advertising their status to everyone else. This had happened until Neji was all alone, cleaning the building himself. He didn't mind the work and he even took pride in it. After all, he'd never had any intention of getting in trouble for someone else's work, which couldn't happen if he was the one in charge of all of it himself.

Neji pulled out his ring of keys to the meeting rooms in the building and attached it to his belt, then made sure his cleaning cart was all full of what he needed. Glass cleaner, polishing rags, various small tools and the old worn broom he'd used for the last few years.

"He's working late tonight," came a voice from behind him, near the cart. Neji didn't turn from his locker as he straightened his hanging coat and used the mirror to make sure his shirt still had no wrinkles and that there weren't any stray hairs.

Neji snorted softly. "Don't think that will change my view of him, Lee, new employees are never good. And they are always messy." He finally turned, nodding to the young man standing by his cart. The man had very busy eyebrows, almost large enough to cover his eyes and resemble something an animal would have rather than a human. His black hair, rustled a bit, but clean, was in a bowl cut while he wore a faded brown outfit of pants and a shirt, a cigarette in his fingers as he blazingly ignored the "no smoking" signs in the room. Neji frowned at him. "Put that out."

Lee shrugged and snuffed it on the floor with his foot and Neji glared at him as he had to pick up the cigarette butt and douse it in water before putting it in the garbage. Neji then pushed his cart out of the closet, not even glancing back at the man's laugh, as he began his cleaning rounds.

It wasn't long before he passed the office from last night. Just as Lee had said, the light was on and he could see the man sitting in his desk, the chair turned as he focused on his computer, typing quickly. The man was a bit taller than Neji himself, from what he could tell and in spite of his wearing a neat business suit, he had a fur-lined hoodie hanging off the back of his chair and his hair was messy, refusing to obey a comb, brush or dryer. Neji frowned as he knocked on the door, checking to make sure he wouldn't be disturbing the new guy just out of habit.

Kiba looked up and flashed him a smile of greeting. "Come on in, I'm not busy."

'Just here for your trash." Neji avoided eye contact after that point and stepped over to the trash can by the desk. He dumped it in his large garbage can on wheels and then went to return it, only then did he see the one thing that solidified how much he would hate this new worker.

Lying next to the desk, on the floor, was a green blanket covered in silver swirly leaf shapes and dog hair. A doggy bone and water dish sat on the blanket and Neji did his best to keep from snarling as his eyes moved around the room, looking for the furry culprit.

In all his years working at the office, the one thing he hated the most, more than anything, was 'Dog Day'. Dog Day happened on the first Thursday of every month and was some sort of misguided attempt to make the work place more friendly and enjoyable. On the first Thursday of every month the employees were allowed to bring in their pet dogs and let them sit next to them while they worked all day, provided they were well behaved and didn't leave messes on the carpet. Neji disagreed with the Human Resources department and thought the practice was completely unprofessional and just plain horrible to allow in a work place. Not to mention that it was a given that there were always a couple dogs that decided to make his night hell by staining the carpet in their own way.

Luckily most the owners and their dogs left before Neji came in. Sadly this wasn't the case at the moment.

Not finding the dog, Neji turned back to his cart as he heard a ruffling and a growling sound. To his dismay, a roll of toilet paper rolled out of the cart with a little white furball attached to it. The dog growled and snapped at the toilet paper, ripping it to shreds right in front of Neji's look of horror. Small scraps of the offensive thin paper flew around the room in a flurry as the puppy wagged its tail and proceeded to rip it all to shreds.

"Akamaru! No!" Kiba stood up at his desk, yelling at the dog. But the dog didn't listen; instead it just shook the roll more, hitting the cardboard finally with its teeth. Rolling on its back it proceeded to attack it with all four paws and its teeth. Neji stepped toward the cart, already reaching for the broom to knock some sense into the little pest. Luckily, for the dog only, Kiba was quicker and immediately beside the dog, tearing the scraps of the roll away while he held him by the scruff of his neck. He attached the dog to his leash, tying it to the chair so he'd stay on his blanket and dropped the very dead roll in the garbage.

"I'm so sorry about that, let me help you clean it up..."

"No, I'll simply use the vacuum after you leave tonight." Neji resisted the urge to glare at the dog, quite certain his hatred would only give the little devil more pleasure then the little show.

"Are you sure?"

Neji nodded once. "Yes, I'm sure." Neji bent down and picked up the larger pieces, dropped them in the trash and then quickly left the room. Walking down the hall he encountered another puppy which looked up at him with one of those 'pet me please, I'm cute' looks. Neji responded with a deadly glare, mean enough to make the puppy sink back under the desk with a whimper.

Neji hated dogs. And he was quite sure he hated the new worker.

"He has a dog. I hate dogs." Neji muttered as he stepped into the bathroom, starting to sweep and clean up the floor. Lee was standing there, leaning against the wall as usual.

"Oh dogs aren't so bad. And besides, it's only one day a month."

"One day of hell. Last month there were five messes left behind. Five."

"One for each floor."

Neji glared at Lee and took the broom, sweeping the floor angrily in short and jerky motions. "It was a stupid idea anyway. Who in their right mind would want to bring their dogs to work anyway?"

"Well let;'s see, there's this Kiba, and Sakura from the second floor with her poodle. Not to mention the security guard and his two dogs, then the guy who does the computer repairs with his huge Dalmatian-"

"Shut up."

Neji slapped the broom against the wall, but Lee kept talking, rambling and rambling, naming off every single employee who ever brought in a dog.

In the end Neji left the broom in the bathroom, and left Lee to his own taunting as he went to hunt down the vacuum to clean up the mess of toilet paper.


	3. Chapter 2

(Fic) Cleaning Up 2?  
Title: Cleaning Up  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Kiba x Neji  
Warnings: AU. Yaoi. Semi horror and general weirdness.  
Summary: Neji is perfect, living up to his name in life, even if his station in society is one of the lowest. And then he ends up falling for someone, the most unlikely person in the world, only to discover that his life has no intention of letting him be with anyone. And his life will stop at nothing to stop him. 

Chapter 2: Polishing

The top floor of the building, which belonged to the executives of the company, was lavish and expense and stood out in contrast to the rest of the office with its faded gray cubicles and worn fabric chairs on broken wheels. If one had the appropriate key, used to unlock the elevator and access the top floor, then one would see a circular hallway, with a large bar around the central pillar. Clean and ornate, but tame, wallpaper covered the walls and the carpet was a tasteful off white that held little stains. Offices were all large, with four corner offices and one between each, having eight total, one for each person just so lucky to hold such a position.

The center bar was kept fully stocked, with refills every Friday and each office contained the most comfortable and probably the most expensive of furniture available. Nothing but the best for the higher ups in the company, they saw to that.

Neji was the one person below their status who was ever allowed up onto the sacred 5th floor. When he'd first been allowed, he hadn't even batted an eye at the contrast of extravagance and the floors below. Large corporations made large amounts of money, and it had to go somewhere. Neji wasn't surprised to see it here on this floor, in fact he expected it.

In spite of himself and his current position, Neji was familiar with rich families and how things were run within. A company, he was sure, acted no different. The head of the family retained the most money and decided how it would trickle down to the ones below him. Of course, no matter how generous the head was, he always kept most of the money, and most heads weren't generous in the slightest. This one was easily one of those. The trick was just to give the illusion of being generous and that was why, Neji was sure, the fifth floor was off limits. If no one could get to the top floor, well then no one would ever know where all the money actually went, especially since the accountant was one of the few people allowed entrance.

Neji's job here, like on the other floors, was the polish the dark wood of the bar and keep the walls and carpet in clean shape. This floor was by far the easiest of the five, as it saw the least amount of traffic and most of the people up here didn't have a chance to make a mess, too busy running to meetings and other such business.

Neji knelt down to polish the side of the bar and the doors to the alcohol cabinet, when one of the main office doors opened and two men stepped out. He didn't have to stand up to know they were dressed in pristine business suits with slicked back and expensively cut hair. One man was taller than the other, his long brown hair tied back in a pony tail and his sleepy eyes usually looking uninterested with the world. Neji knew this man well, after all, it was his father.

"I'll draw up the paperwork for the merger right now and have it on your desk in an hour." His father's baritone echoed around the empty room, giving him a sound of grandeur and control. Neji stayed on his knees, out of sight, as he quietly cleaned, very careful not to give himself away as the other man spoke.

"Perfect. I'll see you then. Have a good day, sir." The other man, who was as wide as Neji's father was tall, always had a warming smile and seemed like the least likely person to be in charge of anything. But Chouza Akamichi was vice president of the company and easily set off Neji's father, complimenting and opposing his every fault. Technically both had the same position in the company; it was just a matter that they handled different departments and were therefore forced to work together every day.

Neji heard his father's hand slide across the bar. In spite of himself he looked up, waiting to be seen, even if he knew he wouldn't be.

"Looks freshly polished... is that boy still working here?" The tone of his voice turned sour, a disgusted sound surrounding the word 'boy' was easy to discern.

Chouza's smile leaked readily into his voice as he responded. "Well, he is the most effective cleaning staff we've ever hired. After all he does take care of cleaning and repairing everything that could possibly break around here, aside from the servers."

"I've been meaning to speak with you about that. I'm sure you're well aware that his mother is off with some other man now, and has no intention of suing us anymore. I gave the boy a job out of pity and to keep her mouth shut. I'd like it if he were gone by the end of the week."

Neji felt himself grow cold and he settled a glare on the cabinet door in front of him.

"Now, sir, you know we can't just fire someone without a reason. The legal repercussions alone would make it cost us more than anything. Not to mention that right now we actually are saving quite a bit of money since he's able to do the work of four separate sanitary workers all by himself. It's not as if he creates trouble around here. I'm sure it would be no trouble to keep him around, you barely notice him."

"Chouza, I want him gone. I don't care how you do it, but I do not want to see that bastard child in this office anymore. Cook up some harassment story with that new intern, whatever. I don't care how you do it, but I want him gone." That last word was emphasized with the slamming of a door, sharply cracking in the air and silencing any chance Chouza had to protest. Instead the large man returned to his own office quietly, shutting his own door with a soft click, leaving Neji sitting on the floor to sift through what he'd heard.

"He really doesn't like you, does he?" The soft sniffling voice was beside Neji, belonging to a short but sweet looking girl who had constantly red eyes, looking like she was perpetually on the verge of crying.

"I couldn't care less. For all I care he can just fall out that huge bay window in his office." Neji stood up and tossed the polishing rag on the counter, angrily cleaning away his father's hand print as if it were the most permanent stain.

"But that would be horrible if he died." The girl sniffled, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand as her hair fell in front of her eyes. Hinata was always quiet, always sniffling and always rubbing her nose and eyes. It was quite possible she was allergic to something, or maybe she just liked rubbing her nose and cheeks. Either way, Neji had noticed her face build up a shine over time, as if she were polishing her skin regularly. She was one of the few people he let talk to him about the situation with his father and he was quite happy that she didn't bring it up that often. Her voice was always soft and sweet, almost caring in a way, even if she occasionally squeaked without warning, sounding much like a short sneeze.

"No one would miss him. Certainly not my mother anymore." Neji moved to the next section of the bar, still polishing angrily as Hinata gave a couple squeaky sneezes behind him. In truth he knew quite a few wealthy people would miss his father and the real person who wouldn't be missed was himself. He was, after all, simply the literal bastard child of his father and a mistress, hired to keep his mother from going public about the relationship. The one thing Neji owned to show his belonging to the rich Hyuga family, was his simple silver necklace with the equal armed cross, which he'd stolen from his father's belongings when he was a child. And in that truth was the reason Neji held himself to such high standards. He would never be acknowledged as a part of his father's family, but maybe, if he made himself perfect in every other way, maybe then he could somehow bypass the unfortunate circumstances of his birth.

As a child it had been the thing that kept him out of depression and motivated him in life. Now it was simply habit and repetition. He was a Hyuga, no matter what his father said, so he expected himself to live as such.

Neji frowned, tired of thinking about that part of his life and desperately tried to think of another subject.

"The puppy was cute," Hinata's voice chimed in, answering his silent request for a subject change.

Neji snorted. "Dogs are not cute. Dogs are messy and annoying and should not be allowed in a place of work."

"He was still cute. Maybe you should give this Kiba another chance. After all he did seem like a nice man. He offered to help you clean it up┘ no one around here does that." Hinata gave another high pitched sneeze as Neji finished off the counter and cleaned off the rag. More sniffling and wiping of her cheeks and eyes followed as he rinsed out the rag and dropped it in his bucket.

"Maybe... he's not that bad." Neji admitted quietly, watching his father's closed office door. As much as he hated the man, his name tag was crooked on the wall and looked very unprofessional. Neji sighed softly and stepped over, straightening the name plate before wiping off his and other fingerprints.

"Neji, not everyone who works here is like your father."

Neji smiled a little at that and nodded, depositing the rag back in his bucket as he headed for the elevator. Hinata was right, maybe he should give Kiba one more chance.


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Cleaning Up  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Kiba x Neji  
Warnings: AU. Yaoi. Semi horror and general weirdness.  
Summary: Neji is perfect, living up to his name in life, even if his station in society is one of the lowest. And then he ends up falling for someone, the most unlikely person in the world, only to discover that his life has no intention of letting him be with anyone. And his life will stop at nothing to stop him. 

Chapter 3: Spritzing

In spite of himself, Neji found himself looking forward to Wednesday that week. Normally, in his job, he treated all days the same and made sure that each job was done perfectly and to the upmost best of his ability. In the past he'd never looked forward to one day over the other and, in point, had even loathed weekends because they usually consisted of two days where he ran out of things to do at home and he was left itching for the work week to start again. Still, this Wednesday in particular, he found himself looking forward to the bottle of window cleaner that sat on the shelf in front of him as he gathered his materials for the cleaning of the day.

Wednesday was the day he cleaned the windows. Wednesday was the day he'd be allowed inside Kiba's office to with a valid excuse to look around and truly find out if the man was as annoying as the impression his dog gave. And Wednesday found Neji stepping out of the janitorial closet with a small hop in his step, heading straight to Kiba's office to clean, rather than going down the wall in order.

He politely knocked on the door, upon finding it closed and when there was no answer he opened it, clearing his throat as he stepped in to make his presence known. He found the office empty, though the light was on, and it appeared that Kiba had simply been careless in turning it off before he left. Neji frowned and walked over to the window, immediately starting in on spraying and wiping down the large windows that overlooked the block below.

Minutes passed, with the squeaking sound of the cloth against glass and Neji kept his eyes firmly planted on the window and making sure there were no streaks. More minutes passed and Neji's hand began to slow as his eyes wandered, glancing around the office.

That first day he'd left it clean and empty, save for the standard office equipment and furniture. Now the office had all of that, plus the small touches that made it looked used and comfortable. Books and files filled the bookshelves and a personalized mousepad showing some movie ninja or fighter was next to the computer. Two small photos sat next to the computer as well, with their backs turned to Neji, most obviously they had to be pictures of family members. Every office had them and even Neji had considered a picture of his mother in his locker at one point, before she'd dropped into drinking and frequent partners who whisked her away to other locations and left him to be forgotten.

"It only took you... eight minutes to look around the office. And here I thought you'd be able to hold out longer then that." The taunting voice belonged to Ino, who now sat on the desk as Neji cleaned the streaks off the second window. She had blond hair and a purple outfit wrapped around her body, looking like it was almost glued on. Writing covered the cloth, completely nonsensical with company logos and other things Neji had never bothered to read because it wasn't important. Her long blond hair was tied up above her head and curved over one shoulder as she perched, watching him and taunting him more. "I saw you come in here first."

Neji's jaw set in annoyance and he refused to answer the bubbly girl.

"You know, Hinata was right, he isn't such a bad man. I mean he has photos at his desk, meaning he must care about someone, and he manages to keep his desk relatively clean. I mean he's not anal like you, but then no one is as anal as you."

Neji turned and glared at her, tempted to toss the rag in her direction and see if he could knock her to the floor. He really couldn't stand Ino, but she was a part of the job and he certainly couldn't get rid of her or her annoying chatter. "Leave me alone."

"Go on, at least look. I know you want to know who the pictures are of. Come look, see if he could actually ever care about an anal little bastard child like you."

"What makes you think I actually care if he cares about me?!" Neji did toss the rag this time, and it missed Ino, hitting both the photos and knocking them to the floor. Glass shattered between Ino's laughter and Neji watched helplessly as the small metal frames broke apart and the photos landed in the small clutter. A second later Neji moved over quickly and dropped to his knees, trying to remove the evidence as fast as possible.

The first photo was mercifully safe, having landed on the other and only ended up with a minor scratch on the glass. The frame snapped back into place around the photo of Kiba playing with his annoyance of a furball. Neji quickly snapped it back together and set it back on the desk. It was the second photo that suffered the damage.

The glass was shattered into many small pieces, and all were quickly dropped into the garbage. The picture was in good condition, but Neji could hardly return it to its spot on the desk without the frame, especially since the flimsy photo paper wouldn't stand on it's own. So instead he stood up and brushed the photo off, looking at the picture. This one was of Kiba, leaning back against what looked like a motorcycle, wearing the fur lined hoodie and a pair of tight jeans with a simple tank top. It was obviously one of those glamour shots or senior pictures, or whatever else people might use as an excuse to get a fancy picture taken. It looked like it was for a magazine, rather than a photo.

Neji slipped it into his back pocket as he made sure everything was cleaned up and no evidence left behind. He tucked the broken frame under a couple scraps of paper in the garbage, then pulled the bag free and tied the corners, setting it beside the can to remind himself to take it when he left.

"I saw that."

Neji glared at Ino as he set the spray bottle back on the desk and returned to finish the last window.

"Are you taking it home to cuddle and clasp in your hand?" Neji didn't need to look back at Ino to know she was making an obscene gesture.

"No, I'm taking it home to find another frame and to fix it."

"Oh I'm sure. You're keeping it. You know he looks damn good on that bike, especially in those jeans. They seriously look like they could just peel off and fur... mmmm I love fur."

"Shut up!" Neji yelled loudly. Marching over he snatched up the spray bottle and headed straight for the door, leaving a single streak on the window out of pure anger. He couldn't take Ino anymore and he wasn't staying in this room any longer. He refused! Yanking open the door, he took an angry step out of the room to his cart-

-and bumped right into Kiba. Neji jumped, dropping the spray bottle, which landed with a thick thunk at his feet. He looked up at the man quietly, his expression blank and almost scared looking. He was careless, he should have known better then to rush out of the room. He wasn't supposed to be this careless. He just wasn't.

Kiba, however, seemed hardly phased as he knelt down and picked up the spray bottle, handing it back to Neji's numb hand. "Guess I should knock before coming in. Hope there wasn't too much of a mess for you to clean up."

Neji suddenly found himself remembering how to breathe, then, even stranger, he found himself returning a small smile thanks to the large one plastered across Kiba's face. "No... no mess. I... I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."

"No problem. Did you need me to stay out for a bit longer so you can clean anything else?"

"Uh- no, nothing else. I'm done." Neji looked down, grasping the neck of the spray bottle tightly and bolted back to his cleaning closet without another word, his cheeks bright red in embarrassment. He didn't look at anyone or anything as he moved quickly down the hallway and shut the door tightly behind him. Only when he was back in is janitorial closet did he allow himself a chance to breathe and look around to make sure he was alone. After a few minutes it seemed that luck was on his side. There were no curious knocks on his door, no yelling of his name and no angry voices over the loud speaker. He finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief and step away from the door to his locker. Running his hand through his hair he loosened his tie, and then he pulled the picture from his pocket.

Kiba's hair was short in the picture, spiked just enough to give him a badboy look, but not enough to make him look like a hormonally driven teenager who would take anything that smiled at him pretty. The hoodie was dull against the white tank and ripped jeans that showed teasing bits of skin before disappearing into worn and extremely comfortable looking black leather boots. The motorcycle was sleek, cool and real, not some photo prop but rather the actual thing. A custom paint job and the fact that it was shimmering in the sun hinted toward how much the owner loved the bike and Neji could only assume that Kiba owned the bike, keeping it tucked in the back of his garage save for hot summer nights when one road out in the sunset purely for the pleasure of it.

Neji closed his eyes and breathed slowly as he imagined Kiba on that bike, lounging backward in the sun as he drank from a condensation glistening water bottle. Small droplets of water escaped down his chin as he leaned back, his legs spread to keep balance and the hoodie slid slowly off his shoulders to reveal the well toned muscles and bare chest-

Neji coughed and shifted as he felt his pants grow tight from the hot image. Shoving himself toward his locker he willed his body to stop reaching. He had work to do, offices to clean and, and didn't have time to be turned on and horny, especially not with others around. He refused to be distracted by something so low and disgusting as his libido.

Neji slapped the photo onto the shelf in his locker and was about to turn away to gather up his spray bottle again for cleaning when he felt two hands slide around his sides, to encircle his waist. Neji felt a warm breath cross the back of his neck and he shivered in spite of himself, feeling the warm body pressed against him.

"You left too quickly, I wasn't done talking to you."

Neji couldn't stop the small moan that escaped his throat as he heard Kiba's voice in his ear. The business man must have followed him after all and Neji had been too stuck in his own thoughts to hear the door open and close. He could now feel his crisp business suit against his fingers as Neji reached back and passed his hand over Kiba's ass, pulling their bodies closer together. Kiba responded by moaning in his ear, nipping at it a bit sharply, before his hands undid Neji's belt and left it hanging open. Soon pants were unbuttoned and hands slid beneath the neatly ironed fabric.

Warm hands slid into Neji's underwear and he leaned forward, one hand spread against the locker and the other gripping Kiba's ass tightly as Kiba began to thrust against him. Bodies moved together and Kiba thrust more, the fabric brushing against itself between their bodies. Neji could feel him, thick and hot...

Author's Note: To read the rest of this lemon, please visit the mailing list in my profile, or TONFA (The Official Naruto Fanfiction Archive).

But Kiba wasn't there. Neji was alone, standing against his locker, his own hand in his pants, pitifully trying to keep up with the vividly erotic dream that played behind his eyes.

The release that followed was small, anti-climatic and painfully short. Neji looked down, his breath still labored, and he noticed with disgust that the front of his pants were now stained and wet. He grimaced and hobbled over to the sink, flicking off what he could from his fingers before turning on the faucet and washing away the guilty substance from his hands. Next he stripped off his pants and ran them under the water too, cleaning off the marks and drips, wringing them out to leave them horribly wrinkled, but mostly dry none the less. Finally he held them under the air hand dryer, frowning with hatred at his own blurred reflection while he wanted the long almost hour for the fabric to come to some semblance of being dry.

The hour passed with a slow and agonizing pace before he could finally wear the pants again. Thankfully most of the employees would never see Neji in such disarray as he cleaned their offices, but that didn't stop Ino's laughter from grating his nerves with each spray of the glass cleaning bottle. Not to mention that he swore he could just hear Kiba's voice from the photo, calling him back for round 2.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Candy wrappers, bits of rice and crumbs from the nearly hundred lunches eaten in this room were swept to the side, into the dust pan and deposited into the trash can. Neji brushed back a strand of stray hair in annoyance as he finished with the sweeping and surveyed the floor before him. It would need to be washed tomorrow. There were scuff marks on it again and someone had spilled coffee in the corner and not bothered to wipe it up, leaving a brown stain slowly seeping into the cheap tile. Neji had already sprayed it with some cleaner to loosen up the stain, but he knew he'd end up scrubbing it up tomorrow, since there really was no time to do it tonight.

Neji would never understand how people could stand to have a dirty kitchen and lunch room and then actually eat in it. Stains on tables and crumbs on floors, sticky chairs and smells from rotting food in the refrigerator, made the lunch room one of the worst rooms in the building, as far as Neji was concerned. He hated cleaning the lunchroom every night, simply because it reminded him of how disgusting some of his coworkers were. If the company would make the employees handle the cleaning of the lunchroom he was sure they would clean up their act. Luckily he was well used to tossing away old leftovers and cleaning up coffee stains from whatever surface. It was simply another part of his job, and just part of the monotony of cleaning the entire building each night.

Neji stood up from where he was scrubbing at the last of the scuff marks, and stretched his back. His hand, automatically, went to his breast pocket where the small photo was resting. After the night before and his own actions, he'd quickly gone to the store and found a replacement frame that could pass for the previous one he'd broken. He'd also stopped at the photo developer's self serve machine and made a copy of the photo. He certainly hadn't intended to keep a copy for himself, but rather to make sure that the photo held no incriminating smell or stain from what he'd done while holding it. He still couldn't believe he'd done that and was very happy to banish it from his mind. All he had to do was wait until Kiba left for the night, return the frame to its rightful place and then never think on the incident again.

And certainly never think about the fact that he'd repeated the act that night in his bed with just the same results.

Neji coughed to clear his mind and whatever blush might have appeared on his cheeks and took the broom, angrily sweeping under the refrigerator to banish that thought. Behind him he heard shoes clicking on the floor behind him and coins being dropped into the vending machine, which beeped to signal it received the money. Neji knelt down behind the counter to scrub at another scuff mark he'd found as he listened to the buttons being pressed, choosing one bag of chips or perhaps pop tarts-

"Damnit! Not again."

Neji blinked and looked up, peeking over the small counter that separated the kitchen from the lunch room. Across the small lunch room, in front of the three vending machines for candy, pop and sandwiches, stood Kiba. He wasn't wearing his suit jacket, but instead just a button down shirt without a tie. His hair was just as messy as in the photo Neji had taken and now without the tie and the loose button down shirt he looked more like a rich heir to some fortune who occasionally pretended to have a job, rather than a normal business man. Neji decided to himself that it looked good on Kiba, money looked very good on him, in the business sense.

Kiba frowned at the vending machine and shook it a little, trying to dislodge the brightly colored bag of chips which had caught itself halfway down to the door. After that didn't work, he searched his pockets for more change, only to discover he had none left. Neji kept himself at a crouch as he watched Kiba finally admit defeat and leave the lunch room, and he didn't move until he heard Kiba's office door close, signaling he'd gone back to work.

"Now why would you hide from him?" Neji heard the voice as he stood up and walked over to the vending machines to inspect how the bag had caught itself. The larger man who owned the voice was dressed in a mismatch of colored clothing that always seemed just a little too small for him. A bag of chips was ever present in his hand and he happily munched on them as he regarded Neji. Neji rolled his eyes and glanced back to the door which Kiba had exited from.

"That's no one else's business."

"Didn't say it was mine, " Chouji said, the smile never leaving his face. "Just making an observation." Another chip crunched between his teeth and was swallowed. "You know last night was nothing to be ashamed of, it just means you're human."

Neji snorted at that and pulled out his rag, washing the glass on the vending machines. "I don't want to talk about it."

"No one does." The man smiled knowingly and ate more chips. Neji sighed and turned to him.

"You've got chips on your shirt again."

Chouji looked down at his shirt with all the swirl marks on it and blushed a little. "Ooops, sorry, that happens a lot."

"You need to be more careful or they'll replace you." Neji reached over and shook Chouji's shirt a little until the chips fell off to the floor. Then he knelt down and picked them up, brushing the bag off.

"So now you're going to go talk to him, aren't you? You have the best excuse."

"Yeah┘" Neji didn't look away from the bag of chips, considering what exactly to do. Finally he gathered his courage and nodded to himself, leaving the kitchen to walk to Kiba's office. His courage even lasted right until he knocked on the door, then it seemed to drop to his feet and sink into the floor because when the door opened and Kiba stood there, Neji found himself speechless.

"Oh, hey. Is there something- oh! Cool, you fixed the machine for me." Kiba took the bag of chips from Neji's hand, the brief brush of fingers shocking him out of his frozen state. Neji composed himself and nodded.

"I also needed to return this to you." Neji's fingers, surprisingly, didn't tremble as he pulled the picture in the small frame from his pocket.

'Where did you get this?"

And now was the time for the lie... "When I was cleaning yesterday I accidently knocked it off the desk and broke your frame. So I simply replaced it for you."

Neji watched as Kiba blinked at that and looked at the photo. "Oh, thanks. Umm, how much do I owe you for the frame?"

"Don't worry about it." Neji stepped back, conscious of Kiba's hand going toward his own back pocket for his wallet. He didn't want any money for the frame. It hadn't been expensive, but in a way his mind attributed the cost to somehow making up for what he'd done with the photo. The worst thing possible that Kiba could do at the moment was pay him back for it.

"I guess... thanks anyway. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Neji murmured as he turned away. At that point he didn't care how rude it seemed, but he walked down the hall and disappeared back into the lunch room, not even looking back to see what Kiba would do. The matter was closed and there was no need to worry about it anymore. He banished the photo and the frame from his mind and went back to work, sweeping behind the vending machines in silence.

"Was it really that bad? He seems nice enough."

"Yeah, he does. Too nice." Neji responded to Chouji, sweeping around him without bothering to move him. "He makes this job too complicated."

"Things being complicated makes life more interesting."

"Oh, is that why the chips keep getting stuck no matter how many times they fix you?"

Chouji just responded with a smile and kept eating his own chips.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Repairing 

A note on his locker signaled the extra work and the fact that he'd have extra work that night, especially for a Friday night. Neji walked up to his locker and ripped off the note, breaking the small piece of tape holding it there. It was hand written, scrawled out quickly like a last minute thought. Neji thought, for a split second, that it was some sort of note form Kiba about some non-work related thing - Maybe he'd found out about the photo! But that was quickly dismissed when Neji saw it was simply from Chouza, asking him to look at the air conditioning and heater unit due to Neji's father complaining about the air quality. Neji knew allergies ran in his father's family, so that's probably all it was. But it was his job to make sure.

Gathering up the small tool box he had, he pushed his cart to the third floor, where the units were located for the full building. He passed a couple people rushing out to their weekend activities after whatever work had kept them late, but the building was mercifully quiet and peaceful.

The boiler and utilities room was large, metal and concrete filling the space to block out the loud noise of the running machines. Neji left his cart outside the door and immediately went to work, especially since he could already tell that the air conditioning unit was suffering from the way it was running.

"Lazy jerk, he's acting up again." Gaara's face was set with a generally pissed off from where he stood against the wall, as usual. He was wearing dark clothes, fishnet covering his arms where the shirt wasn't and he had an angry red mark on his forehead for one thing or another that Neji couldn't read and didn't really care about.

"Oh stuff it-" Shikamaru broke off, coughing badly in the middle of his sentence, which seemed to only amuse Gaara. Neji quickly walked over to him and started cleaning the area. At first he kicked up more dust, coughing Shikamaru to cough more, but soon the area was clean and the filter was pulled out. That simple movement seemed to fix it all and Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to breathe.

"You really need to learn to change your own filter, didn't they teach you that yet?" Gaara taunted, fully knowing the answer to that question.

"Pardon me for not being as new as you." Shikamaru snapped back, only coughing once this time.

Neji shot them both an annoyed look for the constant bickering and took the filter over to the sink. He washed it out, watching the dust and dirt swirl down the large drain with the water.

"You asked him on a date yet?"

"Gaara, leave him alone."

"No, and I'm not going to." Neji snapped back at both of them. The tension and the high noise in the room seemed to rub off on him and he just couldn't make himself be as tolerant as he usually was. This simple repair job was throwing off his schedule and if he wasn't careful about how much time he took, he'd end up getting in trouble for pulling overtime. The last thing he needed was a speech from either of them on how to deal with the whole Kiba situation.

"Probably just as well. You know for a fact that actual human action can never compare to that active imagination you have. He'd probably suck in bed."

"Shut up!" Neji kicked at the heater, taking his anger and frustration from the whole situation out on the hollow sounding piece of metal. Gaara responded with a low groan and glared back at Neji with a silent threat.

"I don't want to hear anymore, from any of you! Not from you, Lee, Ino, Hinata or even Chouji! Just all of you, shut up!"

Neji watched both of them, waiting for them to respond to his outburst, but nothing came. No voices, no taunts, no breathes, no laughs and no chuckles. It was just completely silent in the room and he just found himself staring at the two machines before him, waiting for either of them to speak.

There was a soft knock on the door behind him and Neji jumped a little as the large door opened to reveal Chouza standing there in one of his tailored business suits. The jolly smile that usually crossed his face was wilted a little and he actually looked a bit nervous as he regarded Neji.

"I'm sorry, I thought I heard you speaking with someone, I didn't mean to interrupt. I take it you received the note?"

Neji nodded and slid the clean filter back into the air conditioner unit, turning it back on. This time it ran smoothly, without any clogged coughs. "It's running fine now. The air in his office should be clean in the next half hour or so."

"Of course. He's already left for the week as it is."

Of course he has, Neji commented silently, not at all surprised.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Neji opened the door to the cleaning closet the next night with a renewed determination for his job. The morning before he'd gone home, with the photo, and thought long and hard about the whole situation and why it was bothering him so much. He'd considered every word said to him and come to the conclusion that it wasn't his place to like this man. He would simply speak to him once, mention it offhandily, in a subtile way, and if nothing came of it, then the issue was over. He certainly didn't want to complicate his job or work with such a troublesome thing. Especially considering that he was usually more reserved then this and his actions, of late, were very undignified.

Grasping the necklace with the family crest which he wore, he'd decided to ask a simple question and end the whole mess once and for all. He'd make his life as clean as the office he was in charge of, and he would keep it that way. No more outbursts, no more anger and no more thoughts when they weren't warrented.

He felt calm, cool and collected and ready to do his job. Opening the door he immediately headed toward his locker, opening it up and retrieved his things to begin his job, tying back his hair.

Cigarette smoke clogged his lungs as he heard Lee exhale loudly behind him. "Nice shirt, did you buy it new for the job? New for the new day?" There was a chuckle in his voice that gratted against Neji's skin. Neji resisted the urge to turn and glare at him, remembering what he'd decided the night before. Instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on ignoring the voice behind him.

"Poor poor Neji, all ready to work and nowhere to go. How the mighty have fallen. Maybe you will finally realize that no one here thinks anything of you. You're the lowest here; the hired help that can be replaced without a thought. You mean nothing."

Neji slammed the locker door shut, not happy about that. His concentration and good mood wilted under the pressure and he gave in far too easily. He turned and glared at the two of them. Lee was leaning there, smoking, and Ino was plastered against his body, breathing in the smoke with a smirk on her face, her fingers brushing up and down Lee's outfit.

"He didn't even notice it." She giggled, tempting Neji to toss her to the floor until she snapped or broke.

"Look behind you, idiot."

Neji frowned and turned around, his eyes moving to the locker. He wanted to scream and yell at them, his anger rising hot in his throat, and then it stuck there, burning him as he saw what they meant.

Taped to his locker, printed in small, perfect lettering, was a pink slip of paper, informing him that after today he was to pack his things and leave. Neji's throat and body suddenly went cold, aching and unwilling to move as he read the note over and over again. He recognized the font as his father's preferred size and design, and the name at the bottom of the form with the familiar symbol sealed the deal. That bastard had finally succeeded and he was left shamed and powerless.

When he'd first started this job, along with his wish to prove himself to his father, he'd also lived in fear of being fired for simply breathing in the wrong direction. He knew his father hated him and hated what he represented, but apparently now he'd stopped caring. There was no hint of money to keep his mother quiet and happy, there was no secret note for a better job. Neji had been kicked out and left out to dry, tossed out like trash in favor of something new and better. They weren't even worried about replacing him, because there was no one new here. They were in such a hurry to get rid of him, that they were willing to let the dust and mold accumulate until they could hire someone else, but that was only after Neji was gone. Was he really that worthless in everything?

Neji's hand felt numb and he watched the pink slip slide out of his hand, floating slowly to the floor. He could smell Lee's cigarette smoke, clogging every pore of his body. Ino's laughter grated in his ears. Even Shikamaru seemed to be giving a small coughing laugh, which he was obviously failing to hide. The others, he could hear the others laughing, pointing, jeering, ripping him apart. Neji felt small, weak, ripped about and left out raw to rot under the elements. Everything was gone, everything was destroyed. His life so complete full of order was just, gone.

"You really think you're going to get him now? That man, he's the pinnacle of success. He has an office job, where he needs to wear a suit and talks to customers, while you just clean up his snot and crumbs. He is much higher above you then you can imagine and he'll never think of you twice. You aren't good enough for Kiba." Ino laughed as she plastered herself tighter against Lee, stealing his cigarette for a moment, enjoying what was left.

"She has a point. I mean you're smart and you should really be smart enough to know that it would never work between you two. Besides, your father would never allow it. If you were to get together with him now, you'd just be bringing him down. Your father would fire him and he'd lose his job and his livelihood all because of you." Shikamaru's voice echoed lightly through the vents with the soft coughs.

"This isn't your place, you should move on to something better. We'll miss you, but you don't belong here." Even Chouji was berating him, between munching on his chips and brushing the crumbs from his shirt.

"What in the world possibly made you think that Kiba would even care about you?" Gaara smirked as he spoke, looking like he was positively enjoying the fact as it was being beaten into Neji's head. "He doesn't care about you and he never will."

"N-Neji, they have a point, this really isn't for you. He really doesn't seem like the type of guy you'd be able to be with." Hinata's stuttering voice came from near the door, where she seemed to be hiding behind his cart.

Was everyone against him now? Neji just couldn't believe what he was hearing. The people he's lived and worked with, his friends, they were all turning on him and telling him that this, none of this meant anything. They were all telling him that he was dirt, not worth anything, and that it was all over.

All of it. Just completely over.

Neji didn't even think about the next thing that happened. Instead he was out of the janitor's closet, slamming the door behind him and moving quickly down the hall. No one in the office noticed him and no one said a word, the silent cubicles rubbing in the fact of how many people there were in this building, in the world in fact, who had it better than him. There were hundreds, thousands, millions of people who had it better than him. He was just a lowly cleaning person, who amounted to nothing more than a broom, a spray bottle, a machine or a rag himself. What did it matter if he had a voice or if anyone heard him? What did it matter if they did or didn't look in his direction? He'd just been tossed out like garbage and even if he could get another job he was quite sure it would be the same position and once again he'd be used until he was dirty and useless, then simply tossed out to be replaced. Just like the tools he used every day.

He wouldn't ever have an office.

He wouldn't ever have a voice.

He wouldn't ever have a real purpose.

He wouldn't ever even have a life.

He was nothing.

Nothing.

Neji stopped in front of Kiba's door, leaning against the cool wood as he tried to catch his breath. Closing his eyes he willed himself to relax and listened to the sounds of light typing on the other side of the door. He listened to the man behind the door talking on the phone discussing something with the person on the other side of the phone.

It was in that moment that Neji realized the truth. He didn't love Kiba. That much was plainly obvious, for how could a simple cleaning tool ever love a real human with a life and a purpose? No, it wasn't Kiba, it was the job, the life, the simple fact of existing for more then to brush dust away from a surface or cleaning away a smudge. Kiba had everything Neji would never have.

Neji didn't love Kiba. He hated him.

Neji frowned at the door, his hands clenching into fists against the wood and scratching down the cool, dead surface.

This he wouldn't allow. He was sick of being ignored and he was sick of not having a life. He'd change that now, he was set on changing that. People wouldn't ignore him any longer, they'd acknowledge his existence and he'd have a life. One that people couldn't ignore.

He'd have a life.

And he'd start with Kiba's.

The door opened and Kiba looked up with a greeting smile as he set down the phone. "I'll be done in a second, I'll be out of your way soon."

Neji just smiled at that, thankful that, in his last moments, that Kiba had actually acknowledged his presence.

Then he raised the mop above his head...


	8. Chapter 7 The End

Chapter 7: Cleaning Up

Neji followed after the two men in front of him, walking with quiet and calm steps. His hands had been washed clean and he was wearing a rather drab jumper of plain and weathered material. The click of the handcuffs echoed as he walked and he resisted the urge to reach up and feel his neck for the family crest which he knew they'd already taken away from him.

The building around him was an exercise in dullness, made of stone and concrete and brick. Boring wooden desks sat with the other guards behind the bars, on the other side, as they tossed cards back and forth or laughed about one thing or another. Dust clung to every surface and Neji noted with annoyance that even though he'd counted a total of 10 cleaning personnel employed by this place, they still did a worse job then himself alone. He was almost tempted to offer to take over the job himself, but he was quite sure they would never let him near a broom or mop again.

A loud bell buzzed and the door clicked open, Neji being led down a long hallway with many doors with no windows. Another buzz and this door unlocked, the two men leading Neji into an empty white room that held only a table and two chairs, all of which were bolted securely to the floor. Neji was told to sit down and then the two men left the room, leaving him alone.

Neji's eyes roamed the room as he fidgeted in the chair. He hated empty rooms and empty spaces. This room had the table and two chairs, and a wall covered with a long, black mirror obviously leading to a room on the other side where cops and police and lawyers could watch him and say whatever they wanted. His father could even be there behind that glass, ranting on about how his bastard son was obviously crazy and deserved the death sentence right now because a mental hospital would be too expensive and he most certainly wouldn't pay it. Neji could just see the lawyers and men in uniform nodding their heads, considering his father's money and the significant amount of money it would take to fight him. He was a powerful man, why not just go alone with it? No one would miss a single bastard child? Just flush him away like the rest of the unwanted trash in the world.

Neji felt cold and alone, the room around him quiet. He hated the quiet more then he hated empty rooms. It made him feel small, weak, completely and totally alone even if he knew he was being watched. He remembered he's always hated the quiet, always hated being alone and not being able to talk to anyone. His father had left him behind. His mother had a habit of going out and getting drunk, falling asleep on the couch when and if she got home and being completely dead to the world. He'd grown up in silence and he'd worked so hard to leave it behind, but somehow it still followed him.

He wanted his family crest, the cold metal resting against his bare chest under the coarse jumper. He wanted to pull his hair back, not let it hang loosely around his face. He wanted to talk to his friends, even if they were yelling and degrading him. He wanted to be home, he wanted to be in his apartment, in his world, safe. With his radio. With his friend. With his sound, away from the silence and the loneliness┘ he wanted to be safe in his world, not here.

A piece of paper landed on the desk in front of him and Neji looked up in surprise, not even having heard the person come in. The man in front of him wore a business suit, in black with a severe red tie, though his jacket was undone and his eyes showed he'd seen far too much in his few years of living. Black hair, black eyes and his own hair pulled back in a pony tail, he couldn't have been more than a few years older then Neji, but he radiated age and stress from his job, which really was no surprise. The man's face held no emotion, no compassion, no caring, it was simply blank. Neji might as well have been alone in the room still. This man was practically a doll.

A threatening doll, but a doll none the less.

Neji looked down at the paper in front of him, finding it was actually a photo. The thicker paper was crinkled ever so slightly and the edges on one side were dark, splattered with dried liquid. Neji recognized it as the photo from the picture frame in Kiba's office. A second later a second photo landed next to it and Neji recognized it as the photo from his pocket. Both were the same, though one was now stained with Kiba's blood.

"Why don't you explain why this happened, Mr Hyuuga." Neji listened to his last name roll off the man's tongue and tilted his head just slightly. It was his father's name and it felt good, in spite of the question it was attached to. He didn't feel like answering so he didn't. He just stayed quiet, enjoying the feeling of being addressed by his father's name. Yes, his father.

Landing next to the photos were several sketches. The first of a young man with thick eyebrows and an annoying smile. The second of a young woman with long hair and the mischievous smirk of the cheerleader who plotted to be team captain. Another of a young girl with hair that covered her face and a mousey expression, obviously too nervous to even been seen on paper. A larger man, chip crumbs on his cheeks and dimples from smiling too often. A boy with spiky hair and a bored expression. Another boy with an angry expression, uneven hair and an angry red mark on his forehead to match.

"Who are these people?"

Neji smiled a little in recognition at the sketches. His friends. It was so nice to see them actually sketched out to near perfection. Of course Ino's hair was a bit thinner than in the picture, and Chouji's cheeks a little more chubbier, but they were nearly perfect. He reached forward and lightly touched the sketches, wondering if the detective in front of him would let him keep them, since his cell was so lonely without them.

"We checked with your coworkers, Neji. Also with the people who live near you and quite a few in the area. There is no one who matches any of these descriptions anywhere in that office or your neighborhood. So would you mind telling us again, who are these people?"

Neji didn't answer, his fingers still passing over the photocopied pencil sketches. If he squinted they almost seemed real, like they were almost here with him. He wanted these pictures, he wanted to keep them. The detective had to let him keep them, he had copies, so he didn't need these.

"You know what I think?" The detective said as he leaned forward, his voice lowering. "I think they don't exist."

Neji looked up in surprise at that, shaking his head in protest. No, his friends existed. They were his friends, they had to exist. He talked to them nearly every day and they talked back to him. About everything. Of course they existed!

"No, see, they don't exist. You were lonely, the illegitimate son of a large corporate CEO who made up his own imaginary friends."

No!

"This is quite elaborate, but I also know they don't exist because we have no records at all. And they don't even have last names. Lee? Ino? Chouji? Gaara, Shikamaru, Hinata? Those are just first names. People have last names, they always do. You made them up."

No! No!

"They aren't real, are they?" The detective's voice rose, echoing in the room, making Neji feel smaller, more afraid.

NO!

"You made them up in your own sick and twisted mind, didn't you?"

"NO!" Neji stood up, yelling at the man, his voice cracking in panic. His hands never left the table, though he was on his feet, and the fingers brought the paper together, trembling as they were crumbled into clumps. "They are real! They're my friends! They're my family! They're all I have!"

"Your family is made of a mop, a spray can and a washcloth! That's what they are, isn't it? You named and turned you tools into people so you would have someone to talk to."

"NO!" Neji could feel his body shaking as he screamed at the man. "NO!"

"You have no one, you're alone and so you made your own imaginary friends." The detective sat back down, not yelling anymore, just watching Neji stand there and shake with a sick little satisfied smirk on his face. "What I don't get is why you would kill the first person to actually pay attention to you. We know you're sick, Neji. That other photo? It tested positive for semen stains. So why kill him? You liked him. Why beat him to death with a mop? You were practically stalking him. Were you threatened by the fact that you might actually like a real person?"

"No..."

"Or were they threatened? Were you scared that if you started to care about a real person, that they would all leave you? That you wouldn't need them anymore? That's it, isn't it. You were scared because Kiba made you feel real."

Neji stopped shaking, slumping back into the chair as he looked down at the sketches. For the first time in his life he heard their voices again, even when there was nothing in the room.

"Loser, you should have known." Lee's voice echoed slowly through his head, laughing.

"He knew all along, he was just in denial. Only stupid people deny the truth." Ino.

"I... I'm sorry Neji..." Hinata.

"It's true, old friend, we're just a few objects and machines, we can't really speak." Chouji.

Shikamaru sighed. "You really need to face the facts."

"Little late to face them. You're in jail. Face it, you really fucked up." Gaara.

Neji looked up at all of them, his head hurting and his eyes burning from the tears and pain that threatened. He wanted to protest, to beg them. He wanted to explain that this was all wrong, it wasn't right at all. It couldn't be. None of this. He swore! None of it!

But they were gone.

The only things in front of him were the pieces of paper and the angry detective.

And he was finally, completely and totally, all alone. He'd seen to that hadn't he? He'd destroyed everything, he's shattered it all, just like that mop had shattered when it had met with Kiba's head. Neji could still remember the sound of the wood splintering and of his skull meeting the desk with a dull thump. The picture falling to the floor, the glass breaking again, just like the first time. He remembered hitting again, the sound of liquid covering the wall and desk, dripping to the carpet. He remembered the sharp smell, the tangy taste and the thick and sticky hands. He remembered dropping the wood pieces to the floor and just standing there as the phone rung next to the computer. Even when the police came and took him away no one picked it up. And the photo lay on the floor, the blood seeping to stain the picture.

It had all been an angry blur at the time, and Neji even found himself fretting about how to get the red out of the carpet the next night, when he'd come back to work. But no, someone else had that job now. Soon someone else would be packing away Kiba's things in boxes and dusting off the desk for the next person. Someone else would shake Neji's father's hand and hear the words "you're hired" and probably get a smile and a bonus. Someone else would fill his locker and use his tools. Someone else would replace Kiba's name plate with another new employee.

There was no place for Neji anymore. No purpose, no use. In the end he was nothing, once again. Just where he'd started. And this time, like before, he was alone.

Neji curled up in the chair and cried in the silence.

The end.


End file.
